Blend tool

[Jays]

On 2/7/2022 at 10:50 PM, Johannes said:

 

Thank You guys for the tip. A little competition does no harm. Compared to Affinity the pricing is steep but I read Vectorstyler offers real vector brushes. I'll give it a try.

I bought VS and I can say that it is worth the money.

[2ddpainter]

Especially if you are expected to wait
another couple of years for those features
in Affinity Designer.

Also purchased VS a while ago.

Works very well, via Clipboard, together
with Affinity Designer.

Btw you can also download the VectorStyler-PDF manual
if you are interested.

Here the Link:
VectorStyler PDF Manual

[Vaz]

Is there an update to this? Their roadmap page doesn't work anymore from the links. Are these basic tools going to be implemented anytime soon?

[2ddpainter]

8 hours ago, Vaz said:

Is there an update to this? Their roadmap page doesn't work anymore from the links. Are these basic tools going to be implemented anytime soon?

I would not bet on this, if you look how long this Thread exist.

[DGee]

It feels as if the software is no longer being developed. Vectorstyler has put out many updates over the last months with just one developer and Affinity none.

[Johannes]

8 hours ago, DGee said:

It feels as if the software is no longer being developed. Vectorstyler has put out many updates over the last months with just one developer and Affinity none.

Thanks for that information. I thought of testing vectorstyler.

Never buy software with just one developer.

Most of the time it vanishes.

[2ddpainter]

6 hours ago, Johannes said:

Thanks for that information. I thought of testing vectorstyler.

Could only recommend to do so, also own a copy of it.
And while VectorStyler also has some bugs and quirks
the Dev is really active and he listen and answer you
if you post some questions in the VS forum.

[Vaz]

17 hours ago, 2ddpainter said:

I would not bet on this, if you look how long this Thread exist.

I was just hoping they were working out some bugs with it. Unfortunately looks like most of us will have to keep up our Illustrator subscription.

[2ddpainter]

1 hour ago, Vaz said:

Unfortunately looks like most of us will have to keep up our Illustrator subscription

Well, you dont have to keep it.
VectorStyler may come in a not-so-attractive outfit and be a bit unfamiliar in operation.
But it has many, many tools (and many more) that Affinity Designer users have wanted for years.
Well, I have both VS and Affinity Designer and I also like  both for different reasons.
Could only recommend to try the VS Demo.

[Old Bruce]

10 hours ago, Johannes said:

Never buy software with just one developer.

Most of the time it vanishes.

More importantly is Backup your designs with bog standard file formats. TIFF, PDF, TXT, whatever is best for the type of work.

[andré felipe]

+1 for Blend tool.

I am making the switch from Adobe right now. This was added to my pile of regret for my purchase.

Let's see how it goes, will still try hard to stay with Affinity.

[TrentL]

+1 for a blend tool.

Currently, the best free solution I have found is to use Inkscape to blend shapes and then copy them into Affinity Designer. 

[Customer Feedback]

On 3/8/2022 at 7:55 AM, Johannes said:

Thanks for that information. I thought of testing vectorstyler.

Never buy software with just one developer.

Most of the time it vanishes.

There are so many nuances to this.

As a thumb rule, yes. In reality, not always. I've seen big and small programs disappear, ditto companies, or change terms so that even as a commercial you have to change vendors and software. And I'm not referring to Adobe. The IT world is volatile and dynamic. Serif also retired an entire product line including file format, and replaced it with a new one, developed at an impressively slow pace with years of delays and feature shortages. It's not a better alternative at all. Better assurance that THE COMPANY is there, but an eternity of waiting and uncertainty about what to expect.

So you'll have to look around. In our professional and commercial evaluation, we did not include Vectorstyler. For several reasons. But if you are a hobbyist - and I think 98% of you are - I simply can't think of any reason other than money to advise against evaluating and buying Vectorstyler as a companion to Affinity, complementing in workflows blend or perspective, for example. As long as you are not dependent on the program and the program file format itself.

Vectorstyler is absolutely insanely good feature-wise, and the programmer is clearly in a completely different league than Serif's devs. He is so talented. And clearly a genius at vector math. On top of that, bugs are fixed within weeks or few months worst case. I'm aware of all the weaknesses and uncertainties of the current program and one-man company, so we don't need that discussion here, thank you, but the program is impressive feature-wise, so in the overall picture assess how important it is to you to get something MADE and DELIVERED. That's what it's all about as a creative. You have to take a calculated risk sometimes.

I'm personally going to keep an eye on Vectorstyler - it's a pleasure to follow something that evolves significantly from month to month. I know that as a company we won't be investing in Serif's programs for commercial use (probably never will), but I'll be keeping an eye on Serif as well, but here I can settle for dropping by annually - without any expectations. 

It was a strange experience that Affinity Designer in particular is a completely different program for a completely different audience than what the marketing and website are trying to bluff through. But I can understand that more artistic types are fond of the program. So am I for creative use. But I predict it will end up on the back burner once I finish my test creations.

We as a company - and ambitious professionals - need somethingthat has mature vector features from top to bottom, and where the algorithms are professional and solid. That's why we're staying with Adobe, but it's been exciting to look around. There is clearly money to be made from the many talented hobbyists. But it's also their limited needs that drag down many small programs. Even those with the potential for more and bigger.

But look at Vectorstyler - as the market stands now, it's clearly the cheapest of the feature-rich vector programs at a tolerable price. However, I think it's significantly much better in the macOS edition for M1.

/Eddie

[Old Bruce]

15 hours ago, Customer Feedback said:

There are so many nuances to this.

This is a wonderful post. You have distilled a lot of research into just a few paragraphs. [have a kudos emoticon]

[Alfred]

15 hours ago, Customer Feedback said:

Serif also retired an entire product line including file format, and replaced it with a new one, developed at an impressively slow pace with years of delays and feature shortages. It's not a better alternative at all.

Two things that are noticeably better are the single file format and the support for multiple platforms. The old product line was for Windows only, and the file formats were largely incompatible between the various applications in the range.

[Customer Feedback]

3 hours ago, Alfred said:

Two things that are noticeably better are the single file format and the support for multiple platforms. The old product line was for Windows only, and the file formats were largely incompatible between the various applications in the range.

Obviously, we all know that, but the point of my post was that there is no guarantee of continuity whether you choose programs from e.g. Google (big), Serif (medium sized) or NumericPath (Vectorstyler, one dev).

[Customer Feedback]

3 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

This is a wonderful post. You have distilled a lot of research into just a few paragraphs. [have a kudos emoticon]

Thanks, Bruce. 
🤝

[Alfred]

3 hours ago, Alfred said:

Two things that are noticeably better are the single file format and the support for multiple platforms. The old product line was for Windows only, and the file formats were largely incompatible between the various applications in the range.

 

13 minutes ago, Customer Feedback said:

Obviously, we all know that

It’s not at all obvious to the many people here who have never used the ‘Plus’ applications and have read little or nothing about them.

[Customer Feedback]

45 minutes ago, Alfred said:

It’s not at all obvious to the many people here who have never used the ‘Plus’ applications and have read little or nothing about them.

Yes, but it's just completely irrelevant in the above context and to what I'm writing. And look how it can now go off the rails. The point was that everything has a risk. 

Closing here.

[2ddpainter]

On 8/1/2022 at 1:17 AM, Customer Feedback said:

There are so many nuances to this.

I just want to say that I think a lot of things are so well summed up in your post.
Very well said.

[deeds]

VectorStyler is a revelation.

 

Bafflingly brilliant. This is savant and auteur level development and production, in a Vector focused app with vast pixel effects and an incredibly deep styling and referencing symbol system.

It's a must have if you've any significant interest in graphics creativity. 

42 day free trial, too. The meaning of life, the universe and vectors. And stylings. Plus Blending!

Unfortunately, that 42 days is probably less time than it will take Affinity to add blending support, so you might have to buy VectorStyler, and then can freely develop an addiction to it. I am.

[Archangel]

I take it you don't mean this type of blend tool. But something else.

[2ddpainter]

8 hours ago, Michael S Harvey said:

I take it you don't mean this type of blend tool. But something else.

 

May I ask if you have Vector Objects
or a Bitmap when you export such a result ?

[TrentL]

14 hours ago, Michael S Harvey said:

I take it you don't mean this type of blend tool. But something else.

 

 

That is a pretty advanced example. For a blend tool, I would simply like something that can interpolate between different shapes and colors. Examples from Illustrator:

 

[Archangel]

9 hours ago, 2ddpainter said:

May I ask if you have Vector Objects
or a Bitmap when you export such a result ?

Either. Initially vectors, but can export vectors or bitmaps. This was the DrawPlus blend tool at work.